Is your organization building a pipeline of “sustainable” leaders in this dynamic and ever-changing workplace? What are the new challenges and how can leaders build their sustainable leadership competencies and avoid burnout?
To address these issues, I interviewed Kent Schwendy, president/CEO of Community Innovation Lab, Inc., and the Corporation for Independent Living (CIL). Kent is a dynamic and influential leader who applies his talents in a variety of changing and challenging organizational environments. Community Innovation Lab, Inc., is CIL’s benefit corporation dedicated to maximizing economic, environmental, and social impacts in the communities where we work. The Lab helps evaluate CIL’s development opportunities and serves as its research and development wing. CIL is a nonprofit real estate developer founded by advocates and service providers who recognize that people and families thrive best when they have a place to call home and are fully included in the community.
Q: Why is there a need for a program to address leadership burnout?
Schwendy: Many leaders have failed to reach their full potential because of high levels of stress, burnout, or low morale caused by a culture that glorifies long hours in the office and the sacrifice of self for the benefit of the organization. It’s not clear that this creates better leaders, and it might instead result in us unwittingly using “unnatural” selection to choose for the wrong traits.
The COVID-19 pandemic shone a new light on many practices that were simply accepted as fact before we had to rethink everything. Perhaps it is time to look for a better way to train and measure our leaders. Maybe we should apply the concepts of sustainability, and place value on sustainable leadership.
Traditionally, leaders have been expected to rise to the occasion or provide that surge of energy needed to address acute issues. The pandemic taught us that some races are marathons, not sprints. It doesn’t always work to throw everything you have at the problem today if you’ll have nothing left for tomorrow. Maybe a few exceptional people can work long hours and sleep under their desk for years, but most of us have lower limits of endurance. Even if we manage to keep showing up, our effectiveness and productivity will suffer.
Q: What do you mean when you talk about a sustainable leader?
Schwendy: A sustainable leader should meet the present needs of an organization without compromising their ability to continue to lead the organization. They should still address the acute, short-term issues through surges and personal sacrifice, but they also should see when a more measured approach is appropriate. They would balance self-care with caring for the organization. They would create long-term solutions to complex problems without the fear of burning out or losing interest.
Perhaps most importantly, a leader operating under this altered paradigm would be ready and at full capacity when they were most needed. When an unexpected opportunity arises or a crisis hits, you want your leadership team ready to surge forward. Balancing on the knife-edge of burnout is not a good starting point. It’s time to rethink how we train and use our leaders, so they are always available to do what we need—which is lead the organization and set an example for the rest of the team.
Q: Is work-life balance related to this issue?
Schwendy: The whole concept of work-life balance has been turned on its head by a realization that work is part of life, not something separate. We’re still searching for balance, but it’s balance in our life that includes work, not balancing them against each other. The popularity of remote work, flexible hours, the importance of benefits versus pay, and more willingness to change jobs (or even careers) are all indications of a societal shift in the definitions and expectations of life balance.
Balance is not a state that is achieved, but rather a continual process of adjustment to maintain a sense of balance. Our teams need that and so do our leaders. As with all things, leaders are most effective when they model the way. If we select for and develop sustainable leaders who demonstrate their ability to maintain balance in their lives, our teams will be better, stronger, more adaptable, and sustainable.
Of course, there are very real, practical, business reasons for pursuing these changes. Stronger teams with more capable leadership will ensure that we are ready to pursue our goals in a more effective, efficient, and sustainable manner. Success and increased profitability will be the results.
Q: What led you to focus on a new leadership paradigm?
Schwendy: Early in the pandemic, I was fortunate enough to be part of a group of leaders from diverse organizations who came together to discuss what was happening around us. We stumbled upon the concept of sustainable leadership as we all looked for ways to maintain our strength and agility. We were surrounded by leaders unexpectedly retiring, or in extremely sad cases, becoming ill or dying. Companies were failing, and all leaders were feeling the stress of uncertainty. Our response was to create a concept based on self-care and personal balance for the leaders and the need for them to openly talk with their teams about the importance of these factors.
Q: What were the results of focusing on sustainable leadership?
Schwendy: Leaders reported being more comfortable, although the uncertainty and complex issues remained. Teams found a new strength and resilience, as well as a belief that the leadership was part of the team, not separate. We should strive to maintain and continue to further develop these lessons and results.
If you have questions or best practices about sustainable leadership, e-mail Kent at: kschwendy@cil.org or Neal at: Neal@NealGoodmanGroup.com